Football Notes: South Africa Considers Vuvuzela Ban Due To Violence

The sound of the vuvuzela could fade from South African football grounds, but "not because of the droning wall of noise that made it so unpopular with global audiences during the 2010 World Cup." Premier League officials say that "though they are not yet pursuing a ban, it has become a topic of conversation after a rise in incidents where the vuvuzela was used to cause harm" (SOWETAN LIVE, 4/12). ... Real Madrid will spend this summer in the U.S., based at UCLA. Los Blancos spent last summer there, and they "will replicate those plans" for this preseason (FOOTBALL ESPAÑA, 4/14). ... "Cash-strapped" Indonesian football club Persibo was deciding Thursday "whether to withdraw from the AFC Cup after a 'shameful' performance in Hong Kong" when it ran out of players, forcing the match to be abandoned. The club "only had 12 players available for the match, with some having left after the side’s major shareholder stopped paying the team and staff in January," and others suspended (JAKARTA GLOBE, 4/12).